Mindful loving beauty

I can’t believe it’s nearly gone two months since my last post. All I can say is that life has been hectic and work has been the main focus even if July is usually the holiday month here in Sweden. In lieu of regular monthly posts I have been keeping my Instagram updated so if you’re into pink skies, skincare and Princess Saskia (in no particular order) be sure to hang out with me there.

Today’s post is all about some new and some old (ish) skincare and makeup treats I’ve been loving a lot lately. Most of you know that I absolutely adore Leahlani Skincare and it may come as a shock that I’m not affiliated 😉 I just wanted to put that out there to quell any suspicions and that when I love something I love it hard and loud! Hence my many posts both here and on Instagram about the magical creations made lovingly by Leah on Mermaid Island aka Kauai. And who knew that I actually had products left to review from her line! Well I do.

First up is the gorgeously pink Bohemian Ruby. If you follow me on Instagram (yes, that is my current domicile) you’ll know my deep penchant for anything pink. I like most shades of pink but the ones that truly capture my 5 year-old heart are blush and cotton-candy. The shade of pink baby cherubs most likely fall asleep on. I don’t know how Leah manages to create that perfect pink but it’s bottled in Boho Ruby and potted in Bless, of which I spoke previously here. Boho Ruby reminds me of the Honey Love 3-in-1 scent, soft and sweet with notes of lavender. This is actually my second bottle and the reason I return to it is due to its calming and hydrating qualities. Toners and mists are products that have only featured recently in my routine as a necessary step (and by recently I mean about a year or so), probably because I hadn’t found one I reeaally liked. Scent is always an important aspect but its importance is even more pronounced in terms of mists since this is something that most of us like to spritz throughout the day. I’ve given away two practically unused toners to date because I couldn’t stand the scent even if the ingredients were stellar. Not the case with Boho Ruby or her sister CiCi (Citrus + Citrine), the latter being one I prefer olfactorily because I adore anything with neroli but in terms of what my skin likes, it’s Boho Ruby. I use this mist both day and night or whenever I need to relieve any redness or irritation and it leaves my skin soft and calm. Big thumbs up for the actual spray too! I’ve tried a bunch of different toners and have never really found one that dispenses the right amount of “spritz”, you know the one! Just right meaning it doesn’t douse one side of your face with liquid and leaving the other side wondering if there’s any product at all – I know I’m not the only one who thinks this so good job on finding a great supplier for the spray nozzles! Another beautiful detail I love about this mist is that it contains a small piece of rose quartz which is the stone of unconditional love. It is encouraged to gently shake the bottle before using and have the dinky gemstone dance around before enveloping your face with aloha. Don’t forget to keep the stones when you’re done! (The little citrine stone you see in the photos comes from CiCi). The Bohemian Ruby balancing toner is recommended for sensitive, dry and delicate skincare types. Other ways I use this pink potion is by mixing it with dry clay masks for added nutrients instead of plain water (check out #KokoMeliBoho on IG). Full list of ingredients can be found here.

Next up we have the lovely Kalima Coconut Cream Cleanser. I use this every morning and I can’t begin to describe how intoxicating the scent is! I really don’t think this is a scent anyone could dislike and if you do, you and I need to have a chat so I can understand why! For me, the scent is very nostalgic, transporting me back to my childhood days in Japan and a particular candy I used to love. In terms of user-friendliness, it does require a taaad more effort than using a gel cleanser or facial soap since you need to add water to the powder but I actually find it quite enjoyable. I drip drop some water into the palm of my hand and carefully mix around with my finger until I achieve my desired consistency. You don’t want too much water or it’ll just run off your face (if you manage to get any on! Been there, done that so you don’t have to) and having too little means it’ll be a minor struggle massaging the thick paste around your face. Remember, you want to be gentle! After a week of this trial and error you’ll become a Kalima pro, trust me! Leah recommends leaving it on as a mask as well which I do once in a while but most times I massage it around for a few minutes and rinse off. Skin is left feeling soft, refreshed and looking clear. Filled to the brim with antioxidants, this beautifully scented powder cleanser will help improve elasticity and fight those pesky free radicals. I would warmly recommend this for sensitive skincare types as well with its inclusion of organic oatmeal (soothing on the skin) and organic brown rice powder (gently exfoliating). I have also mixed Kalima with Kokoleka which is another experience for another day. More superstar ingredients can be found here.

Last but not least is the Siren Serum. Or freshly squeezed OJ! This intensely coloured liquid gold has joined my evening routine of late and though I usually don’t write about products until I’ve tested them for a full month I just couldn’t omit it from this post. Why? Because almost 2 weeks in and I’m already seeing results. I apply Siren after I’ve cleansed and toned and it sinks in like silk. I know it’s not good to keep touching your face but you’ll have a hard time resisting with this one! A skin treat comprised of vitamin A & C rich oils, this serum will have you feeling like a siren with the softest skin in no time. Said to even skin tone and brighten your appearance, it contains such stellar ingredients as sea buckthorn CO2, luminess algae (will never tire of that name!) and essential oils like tangerine, pink grapefruit, rock rose and ylang-ylang to name a few. Sea buckthorn CO2 is high in vitamin A and C promoting a softer and more even complexion while combating free radicals. Luminess algae helps increase cellular turnover and is one of many beneficial ingredients in this serum to give you that sought-after glow. You may only be going to bed but the bonus is waking up with a softer, brighter, more even skin tone. Your skin works hard to repair a lot of damage while you sleep so be sure to feed it the nutrients it deserves to help it along. Sensitive to certain EOs? Make sure you know which ones are in Siren here.

This next product is one that both my fiancé and I love but I realise I’ve never fully reviewed it. I’m pretty sure I’ve bought over 20 pots of this effective armpit soldier to date, that is how much we love it and how well it works. We’ve tried a bunch of natural deos in this household and though I got along with most, my fiancé didn’t. At the time there weren’t many baking soda free options so we were stuck with what was out there and it turns out that my fiancé is horribly sensitive to this particular ingredient. It wasn’t instant but after continued use his armpits would become flaming red and sore…and there I was thinking my efforts at turning him green would amount to nothing! Thankfully Meow Meow Tweet came out with their stellar Baking Soda Free deo in Grapefruit and it’s been happily ever after since. Well almost! (Did his proposal last Christmas have anything to do with me finding this…it begs investigating). So for the past year or so we’ve been two happy and stink-free armpit massaging MMT fans! It won’t keep you totally dry but this is something I have come to accept with natural deos. What I did discover using deos with baking soda is that they tended to stain my clothes yellow. It was a pattern I saw with all brands even MMT’s until I used their baking soda free one. So for those of you who are experiencing yellow stains, it could be your deo. I’m intrigued to try the new deo sticks that MMT recently released even though they contain baking soda but apparently only in very small amounts. The real test would be to see if my fiancé handles it without any adverse reactions and that my yellow stains don’t make an unwanted comeback. In the meantime we will happily keep buying more pots of the grapefruit version. For European green beauty connoisseurs, this gem can be bought at Alice & White or Reina Organics.

Before I gush about the latest makeup items I’ve been loving (which is very rare!), I must gush about the joys of having found a sunscreen that I FINALLY like, that my skin finally likes (we don’t always agree!) and that is a downright pleasure to use. About time too, I’ve only been around for 33 years. Ladies and gents, I give you the sleek, the sexy, the powerful Three Sixty Five SPF 28 by Kari Gran. A true Beauty Hero. Being the superstar product of this month’s Beauty Heroes box (and if you don’t know what that is, have a read here) I tried not getting my hopes up too much…aah who am I kidding? I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it when the July product was announced and I had very high expectations…could this be the one to make friends with my skin? The one to finally make my snooty skin buckle down and admit that yes, sun protection can work? The sleek Miron glass packaging is easy on the eyes so that was one hurdle down…then the time came for The Trial. With expectant fingers I applied what seemed a startlingly white lotion (uh oh, my skin was already silently protesting, telling me this wasn’t going to work) and gave my face a good massage with it. At first it seems as though the white cast isn’t going to diminish but with continued massaging it sinks in and settles to suit your skin tone. It was too good to be true and since one can really not say much after a day’s use I was careful not to get too excited. My initial impressions were that even though it felt a tad greasy at first, once it’s been applied thoroughly it feels like any other lotion or cream and keeps your skin soft and hydrated. And most importantly, protected. I was almost a bit too scared to believe it! Maybe it was a fluke. Maybe I was having a good skin day. Almost a month in and I can say that I am smitten. I have found The One. Sorry, fiancé.

The ingredients are nothing short of stellar and qualitative thus perhaps explaining why I get along with the product so well with zinc oxide as the active ingredient. Purported to be anti-aging and hydrating on top of delivering that much needed broad-spectrum sun protection (blocking both UVA & UVB rays) , it boasts non-GMO red raspberry seed oil, non-GMO French plum oil, organic macadamia nut, non-GMO kukui oil, organic avocado oil, organic jojoba oil, organic beeswax and tocopherols. If that isn’t a different kind of sunscreen ingredients list then I don’t know what is. And you read correctly, no water. With this product I will happily be using sunscreen three sixty five. Big shout out to Beauty Heroes for picking such a great product for the #beautyheroestribe to try out.

Last but certainly not least is in fact another Beauty Heroes selection, this time from June (I’m sensing a theme here…the last two months have been TKOs…will August live up to the same standard? We’ll soon know!). June’s box introduced us to the beautiful US makeup brand, Modern Minerals Makeup. I’d been wanting to try out their lip glosses for a while so to say I was thrilled with the contents of the box is quite the understatement. Thanks to Jeannie Jarnot, Diane Read of Modern Minerals and Katie Hess of Lotus Wei our lips, faces and eyes got to experience a little something called #inneralchemy through the Emotive Makeup Collection. It’s most definitely a thing even if I have big love for woo woo.

The newly released highlighter exclusive to Beauty Heroes (enchantingly called Modern Moonstone) along with the beautifully pigmented Rose Quartz eyeshadow and two lip glosses were enough to wholly charm this usual non-makeup wearer. Though the eyeshadow gets a little less love (hence it’s not featured here) simply because I’m not that into eye makeup in general, everything else in the box has been getting a lot of Nic love. Modern Moonstone has pretty much replaced my otherwise go-to highlighter Living Luminizer due to its cream-to-powder finish, illuminating your face with the softest natural glow. I will most definitely be getting another little pot of it, if I finish it up in this lifetime that is! A little goes a long way.

As for the Emotive and Invigorating lip glosses…total swoon. I have never loved a lip gloss as much as I do these, especially the Emotive ones that are infused with Lotus Wei flower and gem essences. I probably would never have believed that certain sensations can be conjured through wearing something as simple as a lip gloss but this is where ordinary ends and magic starts. The happy and joyful feeling I get when I wear these different colours can really only be attributed to the inclusion of these powerful essences. I’ve certainly never felt this way before with a makeup item and the same can be said when using the highlighter which is also flower-essence infused. The colours last a while on my lips and almost end up as a “stain” which I’m liking. There’s also none of that tackiness which usually accompanies lip glosses – these go on smooth and keep your pout soft and moisturised. Since I couldn’t stop gushing about them on Instagram every other day, Jeannie very kindly and generously included three extra lip glosses (and eyeshadows! A girl was spoiled!) in my July box, in the shades Padparadscha (the one that was featured in June), Goddess, a bright red and B of Love, a bright pink (made in collaboration with Britanie Faith). Modern Minerals also very kindly reached out to me and asked if I wanted to try a few more and how can a girl say no to that? I received two in Goddess (one which I sent on to my darling sister who was serendipitously on the hunt for a good lip gloss…at your service!) and one in Garnet (burgundy colour) from the Invigorating collection which has a minty invigorating (ha!) taste to it. Honestly, if you haven’t already noticed, I cannot get enough of these lip glosses. To see some swatches of these head over here. I would once again like to thank both Jeannie and Diane for their generosity and kindness in sorting this girl out with lip gloss, nay alchemic lip armour! I feel stronger, lighter, brighter and happier when I wear them. I even mask with some on! Garnet can be seen on here, B of Love here and Padparadscha here. Non-US residents, please email Modern Minerals if you are interested in trying their line out since they don’t have international shipping as an option.

Aaaand I’m done! Sorry not sorry for the lengthy post but this is sadly what happens when yours truly has been MIA. I hope the products mentioned gave you some helpful info if you’ve been looking to get them and if you already own them, let me know what you think in the comments below! Wishing you all a lovely summer weekend!

Love and light,
Nic

Disclaimer: Kalima, Bohemian Ruby and Siren were generously gifted to me by Leah earlier in the year (aloha and love to you Leah!) without ever promising a review from my side and since I’ve bought the first two after use I’d say this is totally my own thoughts on the subject. But you also know I’m a huge Leahlani fan so it would be hard to find anything I don’t want to write about!

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18 comments

Ok so I literally was just thinking about spray nozzles on toners last night. I was wondering why companies don’t think that is an important part of the product!!
The Coconut cream cleanser sounds delightful and agreed that the Kari Gran is sheer bliss. Also now I know that you live in Sweden. I follow you on instagram and have always wondered where you live because you are posting pictures of dinner when I am waking up (I live in Hawaii).

See, I know I’m not the only one to think this! And I also know several who have made the same comment about the nozzles on Leah’s toners so someone is doing it right!
Haha, yes those dinner photos are being posted when it’s dinner and not because I have some weird thing about eating dinner for breakfast. Although great for those who do, just not my thing reall 😉 Thanks for reading and leaving a comment, always appreciated!

I am also liking the kari gran 365 serum! I tried both scents of the stick deodorants from MMT and I have to say they don’t work for me at all. Well maybe if I’m just walking around my house haha. The MMT grapefruit baking soda free is still my go to 🙂

Hi Heather! Thanks for reading and leaving a comment☺️oh that’s good to know about the sticks. I think I’ll get one to test since my fiancé is liking the idea of maybe being able to go back to a stick again?

What a great review! I love reading your thoughts on anything Leah Lani because I feel the exact same, you just articulate it so well!! 🙂 I too love both the Kailma cleanser and Ruby toner. I need to try the CiCi next! And OMG, and I could agree more about the nozzle! I’ve put other toners I’ve enjoyed in different bottles but after dropping big dough on a toner/hydrosol, I don’t really feel like I should have to, ya know? A beautifully spraying nozzle should be a top priority for anything that sprays, in my opinion!
And when my partner asks about my starting to be expensive (but very necessary!!) Leah Lani habit, I just say #nicmademedoit
(love the hashtag @sarellabeauty!)

Hi lovely! I thought I had replied to your sweet comment! Many apologies! I’m so happy you enjoyed the review and that my thoughts on Leah’s products come out well-articulated ☺️And again, seems there are a bunch of us loving the nozzles on Leah’s toners! High five!
Haha! I’m more than happy to take the blame for anything Leahlani?doesn’t he mention how lovely you smell? Mine does every time I’ve used something from her line so it’s well worth it I reckon! Thank you for reading and stopping by to leave a comment❤️